Cut! Harnessing the power of verbs

We're talking verbs again – because I was editing something this week, and came across a bunch of common constructions that I tightened up by using a good, solid verb. Have a look:

• "made the strategic decision to" became "decided to" (And yes, I removed "strategic" because it really doesn't add anything.)
• "we embarked on a mission to streamline" became "we streamlined"
• "we managed to save" became "we saved"
• "she placed an emphasis on" became "she emphasised"

Do you see how that works?

I know at least some of you are thinking, "But why? They mean the same thing! The first version is correct. Why is the second version better?"

Well, because I want you think about how much information you process in a day. I want you to consider how many emails are sitting in your inbox unattended to. I want you to consider how long it takes you to write your reports, your presentations, your proposals, hell, your WhatsApp to that difficult client...

We are all overloaded with information. We have a lot to write and a lot to read in a day – and most of us aren't even writers. Just think about how many words have left your email outbox! So if you can use fewer words, you save yourself some time. You also make your communication punchy, to the point, energetic. You make it easier to read. Your sentences are shorter and easy to understand and digest. People's shoulders don't slump when they realise they have to read something you've written... Do I need to go on?

We are all writing a ton of business communication every day. Do it better and you make life simpler and more efficient – and people may even like you more!

Those sound like good reasons to me.

Here endeth this issue's treatise on verbs. Next time we'll look at the verbs you need to stop using.

Oh, and PS. Here's a challenge – until I see you again, keep your emails to no more than five sentences, and let me know how it goes.